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Category: Politics

The principal lesson of paranoia is the ease with which politically aroused people can mistake errors for deceptions, coincidences for patterns, bumbling for dereliction, and secrecy for treachery. True conspiracies are rare but stupidity is nearly universal. The failure to know the difference, combined with the desire for a particular result, is what accounts for the paranoid style.

“First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can’t agree with your methods of direct action;’ who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a ‘more convenient season.'”

Over the last year, I’ve found myself more interested in politics than ever before. You likely see it in what I post about on social media, which I sure caused a groan out of some if not most of you.

There’s a famous quote, “Every nation gets the government it deserves.” If you’re frustrated with what you see in DC, state or local government, it starts with all of us and that should concern you. It concerns me.

Politics isn’t just government. Politics is how we go about living our lives together. Wikipedia defines politics as “the process of making decisions applying to all members of each group.” If the government is broken… if politics is broken, it’s not the government’s fault. It’s our fault.

Our broken politics is never more evident than over the last 48 hours. Half of America is appalled by a perceived lack of respect for the flag and what it represents. The other half is frustrated by the lack of understanding of protesting racial injustice in America. We’re divided and not listening to each other.

Something happens and we all retreat to our tribal corners. We stop listening. We stop thinking or being skeptical. If America is going to survive, we have to do something different.

By sharing more of my intellectual journey through understanding the politics of our time, I’d dream that I can somehow facilitate the awkward conversations, listen to each other, and dig deeper. This is how we learn how to love one another.

With what you see on the news day in and out, it’s easy to stick your head in the sand but that seems like a cop-out. It’s time to pick your head up and get active. Otherwise, I fear that things will just get worse.